Exploring the integration of nature and built environment

Abstract

Today, around 55 percent of the world’s population is thought to be living in an urban area or city, with that figure set to rise to 68 percent over the coming decades” (United Nation, 2018) What this fact illustrates is that more people are moving to the cities, making them more crowded and less green, we need to find solutions integrating nature more and more into the cities and reduce the rift between the green life in the countryside and the lack of the connection to nature in the cities. The need of integrated nature in architecture has risen in the last few years, especially after experiencing direct effects of global warming in many areas around the world, unexpected flooding and an increase in the temperature. Green cities (in this context cities with nature integrated in architecture) were well-known in the past, when as a result social relations were enhanced. Nowadays, we are more capable of having this integration in better ways, thanks to the advanced technology we have achieved that can help us get more precise and better solutions. In some ways, nature has the same effect as technology; it can enhance the living conditions, by protecting us from harmful solar radiation, and increase cooling, etc. The purpose of this project is to explore how can natural systems be integrated into the built environment with the aim to create micro-ecosystems within the city that aspire to provide better methodologies and strategies in which we can integrate nature into buildings, and make everyday’s life more of a combination between the quality of the countryside and the city.